Twenty years ago this month, North Ryde Soccer Club almost pulled off one of the biggest upsets in cup history against NSL giants Marconi.
Up 2-0 at Marconi Stadium in a Waratah Cup quarter-final, the second-tier State League outfit were pipped 3-2 by a late Andy Harper winner, scored amazingly in the 13th minute of injury time.
The New South Wales-based NSL clubs entered the final stages of the Waratah Cup for the first time that year, giving the competition an immediate boost in prestige and exposure. The NSL sides were in their pre-season and found the going pretty tough against eager State League opponents.
On the same night as the North Ryde versus Marconi game, the Hurstville Minotaurs took Sydney Olympic to extra time.
Fast forward two decades and the buzz being generated by the FFA Cup has fans looking for that romantic giant-killing act. The gap in league positioning between Tuggeranong United and Melbourne Victory – at least on paper – was similar to North Ryde and Marconi. However, the gap in reality is so much greater.
No disrespect to Tuggeranong or any of the part-time State League clubs, but the big difference between then and now is simple – full time professionalism. A-League clubs and players are entering their 10th season of full-time employment. State League players do it for the love of the game and some bonus holiday cash.
They train three times a week on bumpy, dusty, muddy, poorly-lit grounds then back up for a long shift at the place that pays the bills. No matter how dedicated, how crazy their love for what they do, it’s a big ask to take on players who do it for a living.
Twenty years ago that wasn’t the case. The NSL was a part-time league just like the State Leagues below it. Sure, there was more money floating around, the crowds were usually bigger, the pitches better, the training sharper and the facilities more available. But most of those NSL stars weren’t putting “football player” on their tax return.
That it lasted as long as it did was testament to the passion of those NSL clubs and the tireless volunteers who gave every bit of their time to keep clubs afloat. It was also why clubs like Sydney Croatia could jump from the NSW State League and become a powerhouse in the national competition. There was not as great a gap to bridge.
Now known as Sydney United 58, they get a chance in a week’s time to test how great the gap might be when the proud club, who have an enviable production line of Socceroos, take on two-time A-League champions Sydney FC.
It was immediately apparent in the Tuggeranong versus Melbourne Victory clash that as game and courageous as the ACT side were, they were overmatched by their full-time opponents, who train every day, have a team of medical, fitness and sports science personnel and a backroom staff looking after the incidentals. The ACT lads may well have strapped their own ankles for the training sessions leading up to the big game.
But that is the great appeal of this wonderful competition.
Those looking to England’s FA Cup for evidence of a giant killing need to remember that the first four tiers of English football are fully professional, so if a Premier League side falls to opponents from the Championship or the lower tiers, it is most certainly a shock. But if an A-League club falls to a State League opponent, that will be a mighty achievement on behalf of the part-timers, a far greater feat than MK Dons beating Manchester United.
There is no substitute for training time on the pitch and this is what will make that elusive FFA Cup upset hard to attain. If and when it does happen, it will be the story of the fledgling competition.
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Even though St.Pauli ultimately lost a high-scoring affair, Jackson Irvine was a standout, as well as scoring a late goal.
What if we celebrated all of the achievements big and small, and weeded out those hell-bent on bringing down a game that is doing a hell of a lot right?
A good performance from Michael Ruhs, scoring twice to beat Macarthur and doubling his season goal tally in the process.
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